SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - The Dutchwomen continue their season long five-game homestand as Union will play a pair of games against Penn State for the first time in program history. Follow the Dutchwomen on Twitter at UnionWHockey for in-game updates about the Dutchwomen all-weekend long.
Last Time Out
Harvard Recap
Harvard Box Score
Dartmouth Recap
Dartmouth Box Score
Union's (5-11-3, 0-7-3) was held scoreless over the weekend as then No. 4 Harvard and Dartmouth shut down the Dutchwomen offense with scores of 9-0 and 6-0 respectively. All three of the Dutchwomen goaltenders earned time in net as Shenae Lundberg led all goaltenders with 47 saves in the two games. Freshman Maddie Dahl also appeared in both games as she posted a career-high 17 saves against the Crimson. Alana Marcinko made a brief appearance in the game against Harvard as she played her first game since October 27 at St. Lawrence.
Scouting Penn State
The Nittany Lions are currently 7-12-1 overall and 1-8-1 in the College Hockey America (CHA) conference this season. In their inaugural season, Penn State has posted wins against Vermont, Sacred Heart, Lindenwood and Chatham. Last weekend, the Nittany Lions posted wins of 10-0 and 4-0 over Division III foe Chatham as Penn State set new records for most goals in a game (10), most goals in a period (5, in the first) and most assists in a game (17).
Offensively, Penn State is paced by freshman Shannon Yoxheimer who has posted 12 goals and 10 assists in 19 games played this season. Leading the team in assists is Taylor Gross who has 13 helpers to go along with seven goals. Aiding the Nittany Lion attack is Jess Desorcie (4-10-4), Hannah Hoenshell (7-3-10) and Jill Holdcroft (7-2-9). Yoxheimer ranks tied for 23rd in all of Division I in points with 22 points.
In net, Nicole Paniccia has seen the majority of time as she has compiled a 6-9-1 record with a .918 save percentage and a 3.40 goals against average. Celine Whitlinger has also seen significant time in net as she has appeared in six games and has started four. The freshman is 1-3 this season with a .933 save percentage and a 2.66 goals against average.
On special teams, the Nittany Lions rank tied for 26th on the power play (11-of-77 for 14.29%) and 32nd on the penalty kill (62-of-84 for 73.8%).
Series Against Penn State
This weekend's match will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Penn State and Union has played two-like opponents this season: Syracuse and St. Lawrence. The Nittany Lions were defeated by Syracuse by scores of 4-0 and 6-0 while the Dutchwomen split their two games with a 2-1 loss and 4-2 win. Neither Penn State or Union was able to defeat St. Lawrence as the Dutchwomen were downed 6-1 while the Nittany Lions dropped decisions of 3-1 and 4-2.
Rewriting Records
Christine Valente continues to excel for the Dutchwomen special teams unit as she netted her fourth power play goal in the loss against Quinnipiac. Her four power play goals tie a single-season record, which is held by Lauren Hoffman (2007-08) and Elizabeth Flanagan (2001-02). Her four power play goals ranks tied for 20th in Division I and tied for sixth in the ECAC.
Power Play
The Dutchwomen have tallied 12 goals this season on the man-advantage this season, which ranks as tied for fourth most goals on the power play in the season with the 2003-04 season. In the 2008-09 season, Union posted their most power play goals in a season with 15.
When Valente Registers a Point
Christine Valente has registered at least one point in every tie or win the Dutchwomen have earned this season. Union is 5-1-3 when Valente has tallied a point. In games that Valente has not registered a point, the Dutchwomen are 0-10-0.
Class of 2016
Rebecca Babiak, Jessica Kaminsky, Courtney Turner and Kathryn Tomaselli have all netted goals on the season. Turner and Kaminsky are tied for the team-lead in assists with five along with sophomore Christine Valente. The freshman class also leads all classes in goal scoring with 11. The Class of 2016 has already surpassed the scoring of all freshman in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 years. Four points just separate last year's freshman class to the Class of 2016.
Flashing the Glove
Shenae Lundberg ranks fifth among all goaltenders in saves (413) in the ECAC. The sophomore netminder set a new personal season-high with her performance over the weekend against Harvard and Dartmouth.
Against the CHA
In games against the current members of CHA, the Dutchwomen have compiled a 6-13-1 record. Their most recent win against the conference came this season as the Dutchwomen posted a 4-2 win against Syracuse at Messa Rink on Nov. 3.
Open Fire
When the Dutchwomen have scored the first goal and leading after one, Union holds a 2-2-1 record against opponents.
Record Book Watch
With the Dutchwomen's wins against Maine, Shenae Lundberg notched her fifth win of her career, putting her tied for second in all-time wins in program history with current Volunteer Assistant Coach Kate Gallagher. Additionally, Lundberg has tied Michelle Tardif for third in single season wins with four and ranks tenth all-time in career saves with 795. Teammate Alana Marcinko has six wins, which ranks tied for third in team history and ranks fifth in career saves with 1239. In addition, one more shutout will give the netminder the all-time record in career shutouts. Forward Stefanie Thomson is now tenth all-time in career goals with 13 along with Kelly Lannan (2003-2007) and Melissa Johnson (1999-2000). Christine Valente trumped her season-high of three power play goals last year with her score against Quinnipiac (Dec. 1). Valente needs one more to break the program high in power play goals in one season. Only two Dutchwomen skaters have accomplished this feat, Lauren Hoffman (2008-09) and Elizabeth Flanagan (2001-02). Additionally, she ranks tied for second in career power play goals with Jackie Koetteritz '10 and Elizabeth Flanagan. Coach Claudia Barcomb can break a personal best six wins in a season with a win against Penn State. This would be the most wins a Dutchwomen coach would have since Fred Quistgard in the Division I era (11).
Reunion
Kasey McCullion, current Assistant Coach for Penn State was a coach at Deerfield Academy (N.H.) back when current goaltender Shenae Lundberg was attending. She helped the sophomore during her time at Deerfield capture the gold medal at the 2011 world championship with the U.S. Women's National Under-18 Team.
Penalties
The Dutchwomen remain being the second lowest penalized team in Division I averaging 6.89 (64-for-131) penalty minutes per game. Penn State ranks tied for 24th in penalty minutes with New Hampshire averaging 8.5 (85-170) minutes per game. Union has skated in two games in which the Dutchwomen have not committed a penalty in regulation (Dec. 8 vs. Brown and Jan. 4 vs. Harvard).
ECAC Accolades
Lundberg compiled a 2-2-1 overall record in the month of December with 144 saves, a .928 save percentage and a 2.18 goals-against average. The Peterborough, N.H. native was credited with two wins against Maine and also earned a tie against Yale. Additionally, she tied her career-high of 41 saves in a losing effort against Quinnipiac.
This was the first time a Union women's hockey player has been named for a monthly award by the ECAC. Lundberg has also been named ECAC Goaltender of the Week twice this season back on October 23 and November 13.
Two or Less
Union has compiled a 4-2-3 record when their opponent is held to two goals or less. In games that meet that criterion, Union has outscored opponents 18-15. Seven of the nine games in which an opponent is limited to two goals or less has come down to one goal or a draw.
Nailbiters
In the five games that Union has won this season, four of the games have come with a one-goal margin. In each of those wins, Union has scored in the third period for the game-winner.
Light the Lamp
When Union scores at least three goals in a game, the Dutchwomen are 5-0-0. However, when an opponent holds Union to under three goals, Union is 0-9-3.
Game-Tying Goals
Rhianna Kurio's last minute game-tying goal against Princeton (Nov. 10) and Alex Tancrell-Fontaine's power play goal against Yale (Dec. 7) puts the duo with only six other skaters in the ECAC with game-tying goals this season.
Non-Conference
Union has strung together two consecutive wins agains non-conference opponents and have won four of their last six decisions outside the ECAC.
